Author: WBEZ Chicago

As lawmakers meet to discuss gun control proposals in Springfield, the nation prepares to mark the 10th anniversary of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary that killed 27 people, many of them children. Reset talks with Sara Knizhnik, chair of the Gun Violence Prevention Initiative for the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Earlier this year, Illinois educators began to roll out lessons on Asian American history to fulfill a new requirement in the state. Reset discusses the challenges of teaching traditionally underrepresented histories and how educators are working together to share a richer story of Asian Americans with Grace Pai, executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Chicago, and Laura Houcque Prabhakar, educator for Noble Schools in Chicago.

Reset checks in with the actor about his new film Corsicana, a fictionalized retelling of the story of Bass Reeves, a formerly enslaved man who became the first Black deputy U.S. Marshal west of the Mississippi.

What sets poet Sandra Cisneros apart is how she writes with biting honesty about her life. Reset learns about her latest book Woman Without Shame and how it illustrates how she’s found beauty in self-love, feminism and aging.

Five mayoral candidates face challenges that could remove them from the ballot. Chicago holds its largest citizenship ceremony on record. Faculty at the University of Illinois at Chicago announce a potential strike date. A Chicago-based architect is awarded one of the highest honors in the profession. Meanwhile, details continue to be revealed about plans for Chicago’s casino. Reset goes behind those headlines and more on the Weekly News Recap with Better Government Association reporter Alex Nitkin, WBEZ senior education editor Kate Grossman and WTTW political reporter Heather Cherone.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found a link between gun violence and abandoned homes. Researchers found that fully restored areas showed about a 13% decrease in gun assaults there. Reset discusses the findings with Kanoya Ali, housing coordinator at Chicago CRED that works individually with at-risk individuals to reduce gun violence through coaching, workforce development and advocacy.

The Biden Administration announced her release as part of a prisoner exchange. The U.S released Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. Reset talks with sports reporters Cheryl Raye-Stoutand Annie Costabile, about Griner’s release and what impact her detention has had on WNBA players who routinely play in Russian basketball leagues in the offseason.

After the first installment of Reset’s series on Black mental health, listeners called in with stories of cultural competency in their mental health experience. Reset hears from Charles, a Black man and Oak Park Resident, who has had a positive experience with a therapist of another race.

Airline security can be notoriously challenging, especially around the holidays, but some airports are turning to facial recognition technologies to speed up the process. Reset learns more about the risks and benefits of this tech at the airport from Geoffrey Fowler, tech columnist for the Washington Post